John Adam Orchard

He is survived by his mother Bettye F. Orchard of Austin; father James C. Orchard and his wife Eunice and their son Charles of Houston; sister Alison Orchard of Austin; sister Amy Corron and her daughter Camryn of Houston; grandparents Jim C. and Claudine Orchard of Longview; and numerous uncles, aunts, and cousins.

His grandparents Homer and Lona Fuqua of Texas City preceded him in death.

Adam graduated with honors from Anderson High School in Austin in 1988. After attending the University of Texas at Austin and receiving bachelor's degrees in Economics in 1991 and German in 1993, he returned to UT for graduate school, earning his Masters of Professional Accounting in 1999.

Adam choose to work in an academic setting in the public sector, and his professional life was in department accounting offices at the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Washington in Seattle, and the UT Health Science Center in San Antonio. In these positions, Adam was a tireless worker, a valued employee, and a friend to his colleagues.

In addition to being a very hard-working employee, Adam enjoyed taking care of his car, practicing Judo, going to the gym, and spending time in Austin and Houston with family and friends.

He loved to discuss current events and political and philosophical issues. His keen intellect and wide exposure to other cultures and languages through his extensive travels provided a solid base for unique perspectives and insight.

Adam was kind and generous to others and possessed an extremely dry sense of humor and a deep capacity for empathy.

He was devoted to his family and will be deeply missed.

We accept that he found his peace and are grateful for the knowledge that he no longer suffers.

A memorial service will be held on Monday, December 14, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin on 4700 Grover Avenue Austin, TX. A reception will follow the service.

For directions, please see the following link: www.austinuu.org or call 512 452-6168

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Adam's memory to one of the following organizations: National Alliance on Mental Health at http://www.nami.org/; The Sims Foundations at http://www.simsfoundation.org/; or any local chapter of the United Way http://www.liveunited.org/.